Kay-Lee Boxem

ATTENTION

In ATTENTION, Kay-Lee Boxem focuses her attention on attention; from intense concentration to a complete lack of focus, and the varying degrees of distraction in between. She depicts her attention span in a graph of crocheted blue yarn. Each row shows an interval between two moments of distraction; the wider the row, the longer the period of attention.

Boxem depicts her experiences with attention and distraction through abstract animations. She drew hundreds of frames in which she carefully distorts and shifts lines and shapes bit by bit. These drawings construct movements that loop without beginning or end. Boxem describes her animations as follows:

A sudden burst of an undeveloped insight,

the unpredictability that disrupts entrenched patterns.

It is clearing to create space,

and adjusting to a swirling current.

Like looking through a window on a rainy day,

or the flowing calm of a rippling river.

If you'd like to gain more insight into your own attention span, here are the instructions for making a crocheted attention chart.

The recipe for making an attention chart

Materials

Yarn or other yarn

A crochet hook

Mental instructions

While crocheting, let your thoughts flow like a gentle river. When you lose your flow, you're distracted. Notice these moments and decide if you need to address the distraction. If not, return to your meandering thoughts and continue crocheting in the next row.

Physical instructions

1. Loop the yarn around the hook and crochet single crochet stitches until you notice yourself becoming distracted.
2. When you become aware of this distraction, crochet three more single crochet stitches.
3. Turn your work, skip the three extra stitches, and crochet single crochet stitches until you become distracted.
4. Then crochet three more single crochet stitches and repeat step 3.

If your attention span in a row is longer than in the previous row, crochet single crochet stitches until you lose your attention.